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(N0.Mode1.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. WELKER, Jr. M

V MACHINE FOR FEEDINGBLANKS T0 LATHES.

No. 317,601. Patented May 12, 1885.

WITNESSES. INVENTUR am b3 I Horneg v n. Patina. Phulv-Lilhcgrzphlr.Washingcn, n. c.

a Sheets-She et 2.

(No Model.)

} J. WELKER, Jr. MACHINE FUR FEEDING BLANKS T0 LATHES. I No. 317,601.Patented May 12, 1885.

F F o v a G c?- B A:

'3 SheetsSheet 3.

(No Model.)

I J. WELKER, Jr. MACHINE FOR FEEDING BEANKS TO LATHES.

Patented May 12 FIEHBI R U T N E v m WITNESSES.

FIE-4.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH \VELKER, JR, OF CENTRAL FALLS, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN M. PARKER,

OF PAVTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND.

MACHINE FOR FEEDINGIBLANKS To LATHES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 317,601, dated May 12,1885,

Application filed June .25, 1884.

]a bevel-gear, b, on one end, and this gear meshes with a gear, I), onthe shaft B To'aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH \VELKER, J12,

of Central Falls, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island,have invented a 5 new and useful Improvement in Machines for FeedingBlanks to GageLathes; and I do hereby declare the followingspecification,

taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthe same, to be a description thereof.

This invention relates to a machine for feeding spool or other blanks toa gage-lathe to be turned; and it consists in certain features ofconstruction, as hereinafter described I and set forth in the claims. f

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 repre= sents a top view of a machineembodying the invention, and a gagelathe with which the said maohinecan'be combined. Fig. 2shows a side view and partial section of themachine and the lathe. Fig. 3 represents an end view of the machine withthe hopper for holding the blanks in section. Figs. 4, 5, and 6, showseveral parts of the machine in certain positions. Fig. 7 represents anend view of the lower part of the conveyer, or chute.

The machine is provided with ahopper, A, for holding a mass of blankswhich have preferably been bored with substantially central 0 holes andhave been roughed into the shape of cylinders.

For convenience in introducing the blanks into the hopper, and in orderthat alarge supply of blanks may be furnished, the hopper is preferablyprovided with an inclined extension, A. The sides of the hopper arepreferably made to converge laterallyat the bottom, as shown in Fig. 2,in order that the blanks shall seek the lowest plane, and the 40 hopperis preferably provided with a central groove, (1, of a width slightlygreater than the diameter of a blank, in order that the blanks may lielengthwise therein.

For removing the blanks from the hopper, a roulette, B, is employed,which is composed of arms, b, each having near its outer end a spur, b,of a diameter adapted to enter the bore of a blank, although in place ofthese spurs, scoops or spring-fingers may be secured to the arms I) totake up the blanks. The roulette B is mounted on a shaft, 13, which has(No model.)

This shaft is provided with a pulley, b", which is driven by a belt fromany convenient source of power, as a counter-shaft, or from a pulley, c,on the main shaft of the lathe O, as shown. in Fig. 1. The roulette isrevolved in the direction of the arrow, Figs. 3 and 4, and

as the outer ends of its arms pass through the groove a the spurs benter the holes in the blanks lying therein and take up the blanks D, asshownin Fig. i. V

For receiving the blanks from the roulette and carrying them toward thelathe, an inclined conveyer or chute, E, is furnished, {which is pivotedor otherwise secure'dto a standard on the frame of the machine, as shownin Figs. 2, 3, and 6. Attached to the upper end of the eonveyer E aretwo ways, e 6., Fig. 1, which are separated by a space sufficient toallow the arms of the roulette B to pass between them.

For removing the blanks from the arms of the roulette, a pawl orstripper, F, is em- 7 5 ployed, which is pivoted to an arm, F. This armis pivoted to a stud, f, and has a projection or roller, f, which entersa slot in a cam, F mounted on the shaft 13 the said cam acting toreciprocate the pawl or stripper F.

For guiding the pawl inits movements, one of the ways, as e, ispreferably furnished with an upwardly-projecting flange, e upon whichrides a roller, f secured tolthe side of the pawl v at its outer end.This end of the pawl is prefer- S5 ably supplied with a )ivotedfinger, fwhich, as the pawl is moved outwardly, rides over the blank on an arm ofthe roulette, and falls behind the blank, as shown in Fig. 4. Bythe-action of the cam F" the pawl F is advanced or moved inwardly tostrip a blank from an arm, I), ofthe roulette and pull the blank alongthe ways 0 e to a position in front of the upper end of the eonveyer E,as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. In order to guard a blank being carried byits momentum (when the machine is run at high speed) beyond theproperpost. tion on the ways where it should be left by the pawl F,springs f*, Figs. 1 and 5, or other suitable means, are preferablyemployed to create friction upon the blank as it is moved along theways.

The blank is removed from the ways into the conveyer Eby a second pawl,G, Figs. 2 and 5, which is pivoted to an arm, G. This arm is pivoted toa stud, g, Fig. 5,,and bears a projection or roller, which is held inengagement with a can], G Figs. 1 and 5, on the shaft B by-a spring,gZFigs. 1 and- 5. \Vhen the blank is left by the pawl F in the positiondescribed, the pawl G has been moved to the position shown in Fig. 2.The cam G2 now acts to advancethe pawl G and cause it to remove theblank from theways into the conveyer, as shownin Fig. 5, down which theblank rolls, andfalls on ledges e e projeeting inwardly from theconveyer sides, as shown in Figs. 2 and 7. The movements ofthe pawls Fand G are sotimed with relation to the movement of the roulette B thatas each arm b of the latter brings up a blank the said pawls, remove theblanks from the arms to the conveyer.

As some of the arms I) may occasionally fail to pick up a blankprovision is made for keeping the, conveyer supplied with blanks byrevolving the roulette at a greater speed than would be necessary shouldeach arm always take up a blank; and as each of the arms I) may take upblanks for some time continuously, it is necessary that provision bemade for the escape from the, ways e e of such blanks as cannot enterthe eonveyer should it be full. If the conveyer be full at a time when afresh blank is moved toward itby the pawl G, the uppermost blank in theconveyer will prevent the entrance of such fresh blank, which will rollback into the ways e e'when the pawl retreats. As shown in Figs. 1 and3, the rear ends of the ways are connected by a bridge, e", and thisbridge is arched sufficiently to allow a blank to pass under it,'so thatas a second fresh blank is brought along the ways by the pawl F, therejected blank lying in the ways can be, pushed by the advancing blankunder the bridge and out ofthe ways, when it will fall nintojthe hopperA. If preferred, however, the rear ends ofthe ways beyond the conveyermay be sufficiently separated laterally to allow a rejected blank todrop through between them when it is pushed along as ,described. a

Since an attempt to introduce a fresh blank into theconveyer at a timewhen it is full wouldtend to force ,upout'of line onelor more blankslying in, the conveyer, the sidesof the latter are preferablyprovidedwith attached innervbars orsuitable'fianges, 636?, which overlie the,ends of the blanks and preventthem from being forced upward, although asingle bar may be employed to overlie the blanks.

for such purpose, if desired.

From. the ledgesa'a, the blank is removedto betnrnedto the lathe-centers0' a and, for this pliflPOSQ, any suitable carrier, may be e111- ployed.The carrier-shown in. the drawings consists of two fingers, HHL Thefinger H has a notch in its front end for engaging the blank, and isarranged to slide on the standard H. The finger H is pivoted to an arm,h, which is adjustably secured to a-stud, h projecting, downwardly fromthe finger H, as shown in Figs..2 and 6, and a spring, h, is employedfor causing the finger H to hold the blank against the notched end ofthe finger H during the movement of the blank by said fingers. Vhen theblank falls upon the ledges e the fingers H H are in a rearwardposition, as shownin Fig. 2, and to allow the blank to enter betweenthem a stop-rod, h, secured to the standard H is used to hold the upperend of the finger H slightly advanced. To the finger H a link, 71 ispivoted, which link is connected to thelong arm of a bell-crank lever,I, the short arm of which bears a projection or a roller which enters aslot in the side of a carn', l, on the shaft 132, Fig. 6, the said camacting to reciprocate said finger. The Cam I, however, may be located ona shaft on the lathe G, if desired, and a suitable bellerank lever and,link be employed to cause the cam to reciprocate the fingers H H, aswill be readily understood. As the fingers H H move forward under theaction of the cam I, the fin-1 ger H leaves the stop-rod if and isclosed by the spring h against the front of the blank, thereby firmlyholding the same in the notched end of the finger I-I. During theadvance of the fingers the lowermostblank in the conveyer E is preventedfrom falling by the finger H, which actsas a cut-off and supports suchblank, as shown in Fig. 6. The cam I advances the fingers H Huntil thebore of the blank held by said fingers is in alignment with-theilathe-centers c 0 when the former center is moved forward bysuitable means to enter the bore of the blank and force the blank uponthe live-center a, which revolves. the blank, in order that a tool, 0,on the lathe C may turn the blank to the desired shape. The center 0having moved forward to take the blank, the fingers are retracted to theposition shownin Fig. 2, to take a fresh blank. As the fingers moverearward, the finger H is turned on its. pivot by the blank, so as toclear the latter, the spring h at its point of attachment to said fingerpassing below said pivot and holdi-ngthe finger open. During the retreatof thefingers to their rearward position the curved end of the finger Hengages a stop-rod, hf, which turns the finger back to its normalposition. If desired, however, the rod h? may be dispensed with and thefinger H be pivoted to the arm h ata point sufficiently below the pointwhere -the spring h is attached to said finger :to cause said spring toreturn the finger to its normal position when it clears the blank, aswillbe readily understood.

In order to prevent a. blank from being crushed or injured, and thefinger mechanism from being damaged,:shonld a blank be accidentallycaught: on. the upper .pointvof the notched. endof the .fingerH, theconveyer E is preferably provided with pivoted springlatches e e, whichwill swing outward under tain limits, the sides of the hopper A arepreferably made adjustable laterally,and are held in a proper relationto each other by suitable means, such as bolts and nuts J 9, Figs. land3.

For conveniently adjusting the hopper sides their 'feet A are preferablymounted to slide on rods or bearings K, and a right and left hand screw,L, is employed to move said sides laterally with relation to each other,the said screw being furnished with collars l, which bear against astud, m, on the base M, Figs. 2 and 3. Byloosening the nutsjand turningthe screw L in the proper direction the hoppersides can be made toapproach or to recede from each other, thereby narrowing or widening thegroove a, according to the diameter of the blanks to be fed. As shown inFig. 2, the

' bottom of the groove a is made substantially V shape, so that when thegroove is widened to admit blanks of larger diameter, or narrowed forblanks of smaller diameter, such blanks, respectively, will occupy alower or a higher plane on the doubly-inclined bottom of l the groove,thereby bringing the bores of the blanks into proper position to receivethe spurs b on the arms of the roulette. If desired, however, instead ofmaking the hopper sides adjustable laterally, or in addition thereto,the arms I) of the roulette may be adj ustaable lengthwise, so as tobring the spurs 1) into proper positions to take up the blanks, as willbe readilyunderstood. The bars 6 on the conveyer E are also preferablymade adjustaable vertically, to accommodate blanks of differentdiameters, the said bars being secured to the conveyer sides bythumb-screws a, Fig. 1, or other suitable means.

In order to allow the conveyer E to receive blanks of different lengthsone of its sides, e,

is preferably made laterally adjustable with relation to the other side.For this purpose .the side 8 is provided with slotted lugs 6 Fig. 1,which are secured by thumb-screws or other suitable means, a, to lugsc", Fig; 3,

projecting from the conveyer-bottom. The

ledges e c on the conveyer are also preferably made verticallyadjustable to receive blanks of different diameters, so that the axes ofthe blanks shall be in a proper relation to the notched end of thefinger H, the said ledges being secured to the sides of the conveyer bythumb-screws 12?, Fig. 7.

Although I prefer to employ the pawl G to remove the blanks from theways e e to the conveyer E, yet, if desired, the said pawl may bedispensed with, and the upper end of the conveyer be located in suchrelation to the ways that when the blanks are moved by the stripper F toa position in front of the conveyer they will roll into the latter bytheir own gravity, as will be readily understood.

Preferably the conveyer E is pivoted to its supporting-standard or isotherwise mounted,

so that its upper end, or both of its ends, are vertically adjustable,so that it can be brought into proper relation to the roulette toreceive therefrom blanks of any size.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with ahopperforholding a mass of blanks, havingconverging sides and formed with a central groove in its bottom, of aroulette supported above said bottom'to revolve in said hopper andgroove and provided with lateral spurs to enter and engage with saidblanks to remove the same from the hopper, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a hopper, for holding a mass of blanks, formedwith a grooved bottom for positioning said blanks, and a roulettesupported above said bottom to revolve in said hopper and groove andprovided with lateral spurs to engage with said blanks to remove thesame from the hopper, the bottom of said hopper and the roulette beingrelatively adjustable, substantially as described, to enable blanks ofdifferent sizes to be engaged by the spurs on the roulette for theremoval of the blanks from the hopper, substantially as described.

3. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of a hopperhaving a groove with an inclined bottom and'adjustable sides and aroulette arranged to revolve in said hopper and groove, and providedwith suitable means, as described, for removing the blanks therefrom.

4. The combination of a hopper for holding a mass of blanks, a roulettesupported to revolve in said hopper and provided with spurs to engagewith said blanks to lift them from the hopper, a conveyer arrangedadjacent to the discharging-point of said roulette, and a stripper forremoving said blanks from the spurs of the roulette for their passage tosaid conveyer, substantially as described.

5. The combination of a hopper for holding a mass of blanks, a roulettesupported to re.

volve in said hopper and provided with spurs to engage with said blanksto lift them from the hopper, a stripper adjacent to thedischarging-point of the roulette to remove the blanks from its spurs,ways located to receive the blanks as removed from the roulette, aconveyer to receive the blank from off said ways, and a movablepropeller for removing the blanks from the ways into the conveyer,substantially as described.

6. The combination of a hopper for holding a mass of blanks, a roulettesupported to revolve in said hopper and provided with spurs to engagewith said blanks to lift them from the hopper, a stripper dj cent to thedischarging-point of the roulette to remove the blanks from its spurs,ways to support said blanks in their passage from the roulette, saidways being open at or near their rear ends to allow the discharge of arejected blank, and a conveyor connecting with said ways at a pointbetween their open ends and the point IIO where the ways receive theblanks from the roulette, substantially as described.

7. The combination of a hopper for holding a mass of blanks, ,a roulettesupported to revolve in said hopper and provided with spurs to engagewith said blanks to lift them from the hopper, a stripper adjacent tothe discharging-point of the roulette to remove the blanks from itsspurs, ways for receivingsaid blanks as removed from the roulette, andyielding bearings secured to said ways to produce a friction upon theblanks asthey move along the ways, substantially as described.

8. The combination of a hopper for holding a mass of blanks, a roulettesupported to revolve in said hopper and provided with spurs to engagewith said blanks to lift them from the hopper, a stripper adjacent tothe discharging-point of the roulette to remove the blanks from itsspurs, a conveyer to receive said blanks subsequent to their removalfrom the roulette, and a slide at the lower end of the conveyer topermit one blank at a time to pass from the conveyer, substantially asdescribed.

9. The combination of ahopper for holding a mass of blanks, a roulettesupported to revolve in the hopper and provided with spurs to engagewith the blanks to lift them from the hopper, a stripper adjacent to thedischarging-point of the roulette to remove the blanks from its spurs,and a conveyer vertically adjustable with relation to the roulette toreceive the blanks removed from said roulette, substantially asdescribed.

10. The combination, with ahopper for holding a mass of blanks, of aroulette supported to revolve in said hppper and provided with spurs toenter and lift the blanks therefrom,

and a conveyer to receive said blanks subsequent to their removal fromthe roulette, said conveyer having an adjustable side to accommodateblanks of different lengths, substantially as described.

11. In a machine for feeding blanks to a gage-lathe, the combination,with the lathe and a hopper and roulette for removing blanks "from thehopper, of a conveyer, E, located between the lathe and hopper, and abar or bars, 6", vertically adjustable on the conveyer to retain blanksof different diameters, substantially as described.

12. In a machine for feeding blanks to a gage-lathe,the combination,withthe lathe and a hopper and roulette for removing blanks from the hopper,of a conveyer, E, located between the lathe and hopper, and adjustableledges 0*, located beneath the conveyer at the end next tothelathe,substantially as described.

13. In a machine for feeding blanks to a gage-1athe,the combination,with the lathe and a hopper and roulette for removing blanks from thehopper, of the conveyer E, located between the hopper and lathe,asliding finger,

H, beneath the conveyer at the end next to the lathe,and spring-latchese at the same end of the conveyer, substantially as described.

It. In a machine for feeding blanks to a gage-lathe, the combination,with a lathe and a hopper and roulette for removing blanks from thehopper, of the conveyer E, located between the hopper and lathe,adjustable ledges allocated beneath the conveyer at the end next to thelathe, pivoted finger H, extending above the ledge eiand sliding fingerH, moving across said ledge, substantially as described.

15. In a machine for feeding blanks to a gage-lathe, the combination,with a lathe and. conveyer for supplying blanks thereto, of the slidingfinger H, located at the lower end of the conveyer,'the finger H,located in front of finger H and hinged to an arm, h, adjustablyconnected with finger H, and spring hie-onnecting finger H with arm h,substantially as described. I

16. In a machine for feeding blanks to a gage-lathe, the combination,with a lathe and conveyer for supplying blanks thereto, of the slidingfinger H, located at the lower end of said conveyer, the finger H, infront of finger H and-hinged to an arm, 71, connected with said lastfinger H, and stop-rods h h, one lo cated above and the other below thehinged point of finger H, substantially as described.

17. In a machine for feeding blanks to a gage-lathe, the combination,with a lathe and conveyer leading thereto, of a hopper'formed in twoparts adjustable to and from each other and having a central groove inits lower portion whose groove is V-shaped, and a roulette having armsradiating from a hub provided with spurs at their outer ends andsupported to revolve in the, hoppers,substantially as described; 18. Ina machine for feeding blanks to a. gage-lathe, the combination, with thelathe and hopper, of a conveyer from which one blank at a time is fed tothe lathe as received n stripper, F, for removing blanks from the spursof the roulette to the ways 6 e,'and a reciprocating pawl, G, forremoving the blanks from said waysto the conveyer, substantially asdescribed. Y

19. In a machine for feeding blanks to a gage-lathe, the combination ofa lathe, a conveyer from which one blank at a time is fed to the lathe,a hopper-for holding a mass of blanks, a roulette revolving in thehopper and having spurs for liftingblanks therefrom, a reciprocatingstripper for removing the blanks from the spurs of the roulette,'waysfor receiving the blanks from the roulette, and a reciprocating pawl forremoving the blanks" from said ways to the conveyer, substantially asdescribed.

g I JOSEPH wnnknn, JR.

i Witnesses: v I

' EDSON SALISBURY JONES, EDWARD H. XVALTER.

